CHINESE PM'S VISIT FOSTERS BILATERAL TIES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 30 (ANTARA) - The two-day visit of Chinese Prime Minister  Wen Jiabao to Indonesia on April 29-30, 2011 will further foster Jakarta-Beijing bilateral ties as  both sides discussed various sectors of cooperation, including trade, economy, investment and infrastructural projects.          "Today, we held a bilateral meeting which proceeded in a good and productive manner and produced a number of commitments to increase cooperation in the days ahead. We discussed a lot of issues," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said after a meeting with his counterpart Wen Jiabao on Friday.          Indonesia and China have agreed to increase the volume of their economic cooperation to up to US$80 billion through a series of programs in various sectors until 2015.          "Thanks to the two countries' efforts the target could be set at US$80 billion until 2015," visiting Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said meanwhile.          At the meeting, the two leaders expected to expand the volume of their economic cooperation to reach US$50 billion in the not so distant future.          Two-way trade between Indonesia and China stood at US$1.18 billion by 1990. It increased sharply to US$31.5 billion by 2008, according Xinhua which quoted  Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Zhang Qiyue.          Data at the Indonesian Trade Ministry showed that Indonesia's non-oil commodity exports to China in 2010 stood US$14.1 billion, or an increase by 58 percent if compared with that in 2009. Its non-oil imports at in the same priod were recorded at US$19.7 billion, or an increase by 46 percent from that in the previous year.          Indonesia's trade surplus with China declined by US3.6 billion from 2008 to US$0.9 dollars in 2010. It was caused by the drop of Indonesia's oil and gas exports to China from US$3.8 billion in 2008 to only US$0.7 billion in 2010.          In order to further boost their economic cooperation, Indonesia also offered China investment opportunities in its six economic corridor development projects.       Coordinating minister for economic affairs Hatta Rajasa  said he would conduct a road show in China early in June 2011  to explain about national development plans including the development of six economic corridors.          The six economic corridors that will be developed in the next 15 years included various sectors. "Indonesia will increase and expand its economy in the next 15 years through development of six economic corridors in the country and invites China to cooperate in the development of infrastructure, electricity plants, clean energy sources and manufacturing," President Yudhoyono said.          "He (Prime Minister Jiabao) welcomed it and in the near future I would send a senior minister in the economic field to explain the master plan so that investment would run smoothly," the president added.          The two as well as their respective delegations during bilateral talks agreed Indonesia would invite Chinese companies to participate in the development of infrastructure such as roads and electricity plants based on mutual partnership and mutual benefit.          For this purposes, China has pledged US$8 billion in commercial funds for Indonesia to support infrastructure and industrial development. According to Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, the funds would be given along with soft loans worth US$1 billion to increase Indonesia's exports to China.          "China will provide US$1 billion in soft loans and US$8 billion in commercial funding for Indonesia to support its infrastructure and industrial development," Jiabao said.           He underlined the importance of trade cooperation between the two countries and said that the two countries had huge market potentials for development.          "Economic and trade cooperation between the two countries will be the focus of discussions between me and President Yudhoyono," he said.          Jiabao who in the visit carried a business delegation to sign ten business agreements with private parties worth US$10 billion, said Indonesia and China must cooperate to combine strategies that could develop the two countries' superiority for the benefit of the two countries.          In order to expand both countries' economic cooperation, noted businessman Sukamdani Sahid Gitosardjono, who is also chairman of the Indonesia-China Cultural, Social and Economic Cooperation Institute, and a noted figure in the restoration of Indonesia-China relations in the 1980s, expected that Chinese investors would relocate their industries to Indonesia to tap economic potentials for the benefit of both sides.          "Chinese industries which have the potentials to be relocated to Indonesia included the automotive sector, electronics, crude palm oil (CPO) and coal processing industries, pulp/paper and cacao processing industry," he said here on Saturday.          He said that the relocation of Chinese industries to Indonesia was expected to meet China's domestic need for goods with added values from Indonesia, while at the same time it would also serve as a place for Chinese companies to produce export commodities to other potential markets.          Sukamdani said since the imposition of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area in January 2010, there had been a downward trend in Indonesia's export market share in China from 52 percent in 2009 to 41 percent in 2010.          "This needs a common attention from both Indonesian and Chinese business players as well as from Jakarta and Beijing," Sukamdani said.          According to Mustafa Kamal, chairman of the Prosperous Justice Party Faction (FPKS) in the House of Representatives (DPR), the trade balance between Indonesia and China continued to show negative trend in favor of China since the implementation of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA).          "The result of a joint commission meeting between Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu and her Chinese counterpart Chen Deming, has not yet been followed up, it even tended to be ignored," Kamal said  expressing his disappointment.          He said that in the meeting in 2010, both reached a 7-point agreement which in principle was in connection with the strategy on how to create ACFTA that could benefit the two sides and make their trade in a good balance.          To overcome disadvantages in both countries relations, Indonesia and China have agreed to hold periodic meetings at the prime minister's level to  discuss the problem.          "Both sides agreed to hold  periodic meetings to discuss strategic issues at the deputy prime ministerial level. We will make use of the mechanism to increase coordination, foster common interest and plan economic cooperation," Prime Minister Jiabao said. ***5*** (T.A014/A/HAJM/14:47/A014) 30-04-2011 14:46: